The preservation story of Papua’s local cuisine

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Indonesia’s Papua region has a wide variety of cuisines, some of which are made with exotic ingredients from the eastern part of the country, such as sago and Waxweed (Eat candy).

Papuans are known for their expertise in processing sago into a variety of foods, including Papeda — Sago porridge is usually eaten with fish and yellow soup — and Sinorwhich is a dessert made from dried sago.

at the same time, Waxweed It is a type of sugar cane that can be eaten raw. It is similar in shape to lemongrass, but larger. Papuans usually use the candle-shaped inner part of the crop. In Indonesian, Waxweed Literally means candle vegetable.

Papua also offers snakehead fish in black soup, mashed taro and smoked fish.

However, these dishes are becoming increasingly rare due to the decreasing supply of raw materials in nature.

It was the determination to preserve Papua’s cuisine that led Papuan woman Usilina Epa to develop a culinary business that highlights the region’s local dishes.

In 2015, Aipa opened his first restaurant “Dapur Mama” in Vaena Village, Heram District, Jayapura City, Papua Province, but it closed down one month after its opening.

Two years later, Epa tried again, opening a cafe called Sunshine Cafe and Library, with the same goal of promoting local cuisine, e.g. Sinor.

On the occasion of the cafe’s fifth anniversary, Epa opened another outlet called “Isasai Restaurant” which focuses on promoting the endangered specialty food of Sentani sub-district in Jayapura district.

“At that time, vendors in the Xiangu market were still selling ready-to-eat smoked black fish. However, the number of such vendors has been decreasing,” said the Xiangu woman.

As the concept behind the restaurant is not popular among Papuans, she admitted that she was sceptical about how people would react to the business.

Over time, the restaurant has managed to attract customers from Jayapura and beyond, and she said customers are happy to have easier access to Papuan specialities.

Epa said the biggest problem facing restaurants is still the shortage of raw materials. She pointed out that Papuan specialties do not require complicated cooking processes, but the production of raw materials needed for some of these dishes has been declining, causing prices to soar.

She said all stakeholders at the national, provincial and local levels need to work together to sustain Papuan cuisine.

“Raw materials are becoming increasingly difficult to obtain. Even if there are stocks, we need to source them from other regions at higher prices. It is our shared responsibility to encourage continued cultivation of local crops to keep prices in check,” she pointed out.

For example, she commented that Waxweed The price at the Sentani market is 70,000 to 100,000 rupiah (4.46 to 6.35 USD), which is relatively unfavorable in the eyes of local culinary practitioners.

Despite this, Epa doesn’t seem to be worried about the food shortage. Considering that most of the restaurant’s customers are elderly, she continues to promote local cuisine in a modern way to attract more young consumers.

Epa said she hopes that by promoting traditional Papuan dishes, farmers will be encouraged to grow related ingredients on their own land. She believes that in this way, more Papuan women will sell local ingredients in the market.

She also hopes that young Papuans will open similar institutions and participate in preserving Papua’s diverse cuisine.

Papua’s Food Heroine

The Papua Provincial Agriculture and Horticulture Office has taken steps to revitalize and restore the glory of Papua’s local food, including promoting local staple commodities as alternatives to rice to meet people’s caloric needs.

In addition, the provincial government has been encouraging residents to use their land to grow Papua specialty crops, hoping to enhance the food resilience of local residents and improve their economic capabilities.

Charles Toto, a local Papuan chef known for hosting cooking events deep in the jungle to promote local cuisine, stressed that Papua needs more women who really care about preserving the region’s authentic cuisine, much of which he believes is still relatively unknown to the wider Indonesian population.

“Papua, especially in the mountainous areas, still lacks women willing to preserve its cuisine,” he noted.

With this in mind, Toto invites young people to enthusiastically learn how to cook traditional Papuan food to echo the story of Papuan cuisine.

However, he said, local Papuan delicacies, such as Sinor and Papedawhich started gaining popularity due to promotional content circulating on social media platforms.

He added that the high nutritional value of Papuan food raw materials is also a reason for the growing popularity of Papuan cuisine.

He further noted that there is an increasing number of events offering traditional cuisine. In addition, some hotels have started to include traditional cuisine in their menus, although these are limited to dishes made with easily accessible raw materials.

“I hope young people in Papua will pay more attention to local cuisine, which is a part of Papua’s culture that needs to be preserved,” he concluded.

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